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Airbus won't use controversial batteries used in Boeing 787s

By Nicola Clark New York Times News Service

Posted:
02/15/2013 11:45:16 PM MST

Updated:
02/15/2013 11:46:05 PM MST

PARIS -- Faced with a potentially prolonged investigation into what caused batteries on two Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets to catch fire or emit smoke last month, Boeing's European rival, Airbus, said Friday that it had abandoned plans to use the same battery technology on its forthcoming wide-body jet, the A350-XWB.

Airbus said that it began informing airline customers Thursday that it would not move ahead with an original plan to use the lightweight lithium-ion batteries to power a number of the A350's onboard systems, and would revert instead to a conventional battery, made of nickel-cadmium, that is already used extensively on existing Airbus models.

"Airbus considers this to be the most appropriate way forward in the interest of program execution and reliability," said Marcella Muratore, an Airbus spokeswoman.

Airbus completed the assembly of its first test version of the A350 late last year and initial ground tests of that plane using the lithium-ion batteries had already begun at its factory in Toulouse, France. By switching gears now, the company said it hoped to be able to stick to its schedule of delivering the first aircraft in the second half of 2014.

Investigators at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board have not determined the root cause of two episodes in January involving fire or smoke from the 787's lithium-ion batteries, which are made by a Japanese company, GS Yuasa. The incidents prompted the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to ground all 787s on Jan 17.

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In recent weeks Airbus executives had indicated their concern that the continued uncertainty about the cause of the 787 battery problems, as well as the nature of any fixes that might be ordered by the FAA and its European counterpart, the European Aviation Safety Agency, might endanger the A350's development schedule, leading to potentially significant compensation payments to airlines.

Airbus currently has 617 orders for the A350 from 35 airline customers.

Muratore, the Airbus spokeswoman, stressed that the company remained confident that the lithium-ion battery system that it had been developing with its French supplier, Saft, was "robust and safe," and added that Airbus planned to use lithium-ion batteries on the A350s it will use for flight tests scheduled to begin this summer.

The decision to revert to nickel-cadmium batteries, she said, was made purely for commercial reasons.

"As a result of making this decision now, Airbus does not expect it to impact the entry into service schedule," Muratore said.

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